Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Sells 2,876 Shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lowered its holdings in General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 11.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,438 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 2,876 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in General Motors were worth $996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in General Motors in the 4th quarter worth $602,280,000. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of General Motors by 14.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 48,767,573 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,211,609,000 after buying an additional 6,201,777 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in General Motors during the first quarter worth about $159,750,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in General Motors by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 18,097,486 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $650,062,000 after acquiring an additional 3,247,050 shares during the period. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC raised its holdings in General Motors by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 20,237,820 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $726,942,000 after acquiring an additional 2,905,689 shares in the last quarter. 92.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Motors Price Performance

Shares of GM stock traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $45.32. 10,592,583 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,841,279. General Motors has a fifty-two week low of $26.30 and a fifty-two week high of $50.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $46.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.80. The company has a market cap of $51.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.43.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The auto manufacturer reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $47.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.13 billion. General Motors had a return on equity of 15.77% and a net margin of 6.22%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that General Motors will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Motors declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 11th that permits the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the auto manufacturer to buy up to 10.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.87%.

Insider Transactions at General Motors

In related news, President Mark L. Reuss sold 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.44, for a total value of $6,516,000.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 176,907 shares in the company, valued at $7,684,840.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Mary T. Barra sold 626,316 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.46, for a total value of $27,219,693.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,198,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,093,242.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Mark L. Reuss sold 150,000 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.44, for a total transaction of $6,516,000.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 176,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,684,840.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,152,621 shares of company stock worth $51,818,111 in the last quarter. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GM. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on General Motors from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of General Motors from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Nomura Securities upgraded shares of General Motors to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of General Motors in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.17.

General Motors Company Profile

General Motors Company designs, builds, and sells trucks, crossovers, cars, and automobile parts; and provide software-enabled services and subscriptions worldwide. The company operates through GM North America, GM International, Cruise, and GM Financial segments. It markets its vehicles primarily under the Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Baojun, and Wuling brand names.